Flyers stuck in Red October traffic jam

PHILADELPHIA - The  Philadelphia Flyers are finding themselves in a bit of a pickle when it comes to their home schedule as it relates to the upcoming Phillies playoffs. 

The possibility exists that five Flyers home games conflict with Phillies home games over the next month. 

The first, a preseason game this Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, has already had the start time moved. 

The game was originally scheduled for 3PM. It was moved up to 12:30 p.m.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: Our preseason finale on Saturday, October 4, originally scheduled for 3PM, has been moved to 12:30PM. #NJDvsPHI https://t.co/NpSvE8HV9I

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 29, 2025

Tim had some fun trying to include that schedule change into his sleuthing to determine what time the Phillies game will be on Saturday for Game 1 against either Cincinnati or the L.A. Dodgers. 

And while it's a good bet that the Phillies will be the 7PM game regardless, the Flyers didn't move their game time with any knowledge of that. 

I was told by someone with Comcast-Spectacor that the Flyers "rolled the dice" on moving the game to 12:30, knowing that the possibility  existed that the Phillies could be slotted for the 1P.M. game. 

That said, the gamble in their mind, was worth it. And it makes sense when you look at it. 

As it was explained to me, there are three possibilities the Flyers had to consider.

Keeping the game at 3pm was not ideal. Having the game either a few hours before or a few hours after the Phillies start creates traffic chaos at the sports complex. 

In such a case, flow of traffic would be stunted as certain gates would have to be designated for fans arriving (ingress) while others would have to be designated for the fans departing (egress). 

Signs would have to be posted everywhere for fans to follow, and that's assuming they are paying attention. 

That's a nightmare. 

So, the Flyers decided to move the game. But would they move it up or move it back? They ultimately took the chance that the Phillies would start at 7pm, so they moved the game to 12:30pm. This is the best case scenario in their mind. 

While there are people who will arrive early for the Phillies game - especially those who like to tailgate - hockey games usually run about 2:40. That means fans will be filing out of Xfinity Mobile Arena (got to get used to typing that) around 3:15pm, which should be enough time to avoid the crush of Phillies fans arriving for the game at 7pm.

But what if the Phillies start at 1pm? Wouldn't that create an unwelcome scenario with two games starting 30 minutes apart (not to mention Temple having a home football game, for whatever that's worth)?

In short, no. 

While this isn't the best option, it's the second-best option. I'm told it's easier to move traffic with everyone flowing into the parking lots in the same direction at the same time.

Would you need to allot yourself a few extra minutes? Yes. But far fewer than what could happen if people were coming and going at the same time. 

This will be a real test for the Flyers. Almost a dress rehearsal. That's because they don't expect anywhere close to a full house for a preseason game, so traffic shouldn't be super heavy.

Things will change later this month if the Phillies advance. 

If the Phillies were to face either the Padres or Cubs in the NLCS, both Game 1 and a potential Game 6 of the series would conflict with Flyers home games. Game 1 in this scenario would also be the Flyers home opener, which is usually a sellout, so that would suck for them. 

Single digit days from puck drop. 👀 #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/JxNmlK5TGq

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 30, 2025

If the Phillies advance and face the Brewers, Game 3 and Game 5 of the NLCS would conflict with Flyers home games.

If the Phillies reach the World Series, Game 2 and a potential Game 7 would also conflict with Flyers home games. 

None of this is good for the Flyers. 

Would they consider modifying start times? Probably. They have in previous seasons when this happened, but in those cases it was 1-2 games. This schedule could not be worse if the Phillies make a long run. 

We'll see what happens as October progresses, but it's not looking promising for the Flyers from an attendance and traffic control perspective, which is unfortunate for the start of their season.